Golden Age Legitimate Fei

Hearing that, their interest waned at once. Han Ming Xi asked curiously: “My Lord, you are famous for poison yourself. What kind of poison is so attractive to you that you are willing to risk your life for it?”

The Sick Scholar sneered glumly, his eyes full of malice as he said: “A... poison that will let a man live but would rather he"s dead.”

Ye Li wasn"t interested in poison that would let a man live who would rather die, for there were plenty of ways to make a man suffer except for rare poison. As to let a man live but he would rather he"s dead wasn"t practical either. If a man did want to die, he would be able to do it no matter what. Those who didn"t lived because of hope and worry. However, the Sick Scholar"s malice made her heart flutter. She had a vague guess. “My Lord, you are a master of poison, why do you take such a big risk to find some rare poison?” She said calmly.

The Sick Scholar laughed briefly which sounded full of hatred and malice then he coughed violently. “Right. I do have a lot of good stuff but that"s not enough... The poison that can put people in so much pain as to not want to live is here. Huh...”

Widening her eyes, her voice went up a bit with curiosity: “I"ve heard the most lethal poison is Rotten Bones Split Intestines Pellet. Those who take it will end up with their bones rotten and intestines split and die in 49 days. Is there any poison that"s stronger than it?”

The Sick Scholar quirked his mouth into a smug smile: “Right, Rotten Bones Split Intestines Pellet is lethal all right but it has to be taken through the mouth. Besides, it"s very smelly. It won"t fool anyone who"s good at medicine or with a keen sense of smell even if covered up by other smells. This thing I"m after is different though. The poison made from it has no color nor smell. With a single drop it will send a person into the h.e.l.l.”

“The Underworld Flower?” Han Ming Xi asked curiously.

The Sick Scholar snorted slightly with disdain: “Do you think there"s nothing else except Underworld Flower in Nan Zhao? Compared to the Underworld Flower which is hidden in the shrine of Nan Zhao, what I"m after is a real treasure - Green Void Flower.”

“Green Void Flower?” Han Ming Xi was at a total loss. “What an elegant name. However, I"ve never heard of it.”

The Sick Scholar snorted in disdain.

Ye Li frowned and said in a low voice: “Above, he searched the Green Void, below, the Yellow Springs.”

The Sick Scholar smiled as he said: “Right. This poison is called Green Void Yellow Springs.”

“Sounds fine.” Said Han Ming Xi. It was even poetic compared to Split Intestines Rotten Bones.

The Sick Scholar smiled and said: “Indeed. However, immediately after this poison has contact with humans, it will enter channels and blood vessels all over the body in no time. Unless one drains the last drop of blood from one"s body, otherwise, there"s no cure for this kind of poison. Even if one can manage to change one"s blood, this poison is able to grow as long as there"s blood.”

Han Ming Xi was confused: “Why is it called Green Void Yellow Springs?”

“Huh... one above and one below. Someone that suffers from it remains fine on the surface but his organs will rot bit by bit. As poison builds up inside, one becomes more beautiful on the outside. But he won"t be able to touch anyone or any animals.”

“Is it contagious?” Ye Li asked in a grave tone with her head lowered.

“No, of course not.” The Sick Scholar smiled: “It will be a big trouble playing with a poison that is contagious. One who suffers from it can"t touch anyone or any animals because warmth drives him crazily painful and increases the speed that organs ulcerate. So, he has to hide somewhere, cut off from the rest of the world and rot to death himself. Ah... First, his arms and legs will stiffen and paralyze. Perhaps, he"ll die from hunger before he"s rotten.”

The more the three of them heard of, the colder they felt even though they stood in the sun, especially with the Sick Scholar"s ghastly voice.

“I don"t believe you. I don"t think they"ll attach so much importance on a single poison.” Ye Li pointed out calmly. A poison, no matter how valuable it is, is a poison after all. It would be of little use except in the palm of someone like the Sick Scholar.

The Sick Scholar said grimly: “You are right. It is said that together with another medicine Green Void Flower can let flesh grow back on bones and bring back the dead. Those so-called detoxify pellet only works on normal poison. However, detoxify pellet made from Green Void Flower can cure any poison in a short time even if the person has only a breath left. Besides, it promises longevity. See... who won"t want such a treasure? If Liang makes it into medicine, everyone will want to buy it no matter how much it costs.”

Ye Li hid her excitement and nodded calmly as she said: “I see. It"s indeed a treasure. Do you want to cure any disease since you are looking for it, My Lord?”

The Sick Scholar sneered coldly: “I can cure disease and make poison at the same time.”

“Well... it"s fair to ask you for a pellet as payment when everything ends, isn"t it?” She asked.

The Sick Scholar stared at her coldly: “Payment?”

“What, don"t you pay when you ask for help, My Lord? Since you"ve said it can both cure disease and make poison, I a.s.sume there are many Green Void Flowers. However, I"m not good with medicine so I have no use for them. So, I don"t think it"s unfair to ask for a pellet that can detoxify and prolong life.”

The Sick Scholar"s expression changed. He said grimly after a good while: “All right.”

“Good.”

“I can go down myself.” The Sick Scholar objected since he couldn"t bear if someone else took him down there which made him feel weak.

Zhuo Jing glanced at him and said: “You can try if you are not afraid to fall to your death, My Lord.”

“You!” The Sick Scholar"s face turned dark. He saw Ye Li wave at him as she walked to the place Han Ming Xi pointed at with a rope and fixed the iron hook on its one end skillfully to a stone then dropped it down. She grabbed the rope and slid down slowly. Han Ming Xi leaned out to watch her and saw her move downwards along the rope, slow yet skillful. In no time, she disappeared in the fog.

After some time, the rope stopped moving. Then it suddenly shifted violently and its iron hook got away from the stone.

“What...” Han Ming Xi went to grab it hurriedly when Secret Guard No.3 said in a deep tone: “It"s all right. My Lord has gotten there safely.”

As expected, after the iron hook went loose, the rope went down as if someone was tugging it. On the other hand, Secret Guard No.3 was already making preparation like Ye Li did a while ago. The Sick Scholar didn"t object anymore. When Secret Guard No.3 went down, he used flying skills and got to Secret Guard No.3"s level as he grabbed him tightly. The two of them started to move down slowly, slower than Ye Li for sure.

Han Ming Xi remained on the cliff by himself as he looked at the iron hook that clung to a stone and mumbled to himself: “Jun Wei is indeed a strange kid...”

Ye Li found a cave about one-man-high as she was some 60 Zhangs down. She counted herself lucky that she had this rope lengthened in the past, otherwise she wouldn"t have been able to go this deep. Swinging slightly to her right, she landed at the edge of the cave and stood steadily on her feet. Han Ming Xi was right. It was a deep cave which looked as if someone had dug it as a pa.s.sage that led to a dark unknown place. She saw footsteps which apparently were left not long ago. It seemed those men do have faith that n.o.body could found this place which was why they didn"t even have a guard at the entrance. Putting away her rope, she took a few steps inward and waited patiently. After some time, Secret Guard No.3 appeared at the entrance with the Sick Scholar. As they stood on their feet before Secret Guard No.3 had the time to put away the rope, Han Ming Xi landed in the cave softly.

“They did go inside from here.” Pointing at the footsteps below and above, she said: “Watch out. There might be mechanism from above. Judging from my watch on my way down here, there should be some kind of mechanism on the cliff side which leads them here without flying skills. Pity we don"t have time to look into that.”

The Sick Scholar didn"t seem in a good condition. Though it didn"t take him much trouble to get down here since he was taken by Secret Guard No.3, he still didn"t feel well.

“Let"s go. Ignore the mechanism for now.”

Ye Li asked with a frown: “Can you hold back your cough?”

Nodding a little stiffly, the Sick Scholar took out a bottle of medicine and poured it all into his mouth. He looked even paler. “Set your mind at ease. I won"t cough anymore.”

Ye Li nodded. Secret Guard No.3 took the lead and went inside. The Sick Scholar followed. Then it was Ye Li and Han Ming Xi.